Chapter 65: Gathering

　Me, Mr. Henry, and Mr. Albert are on our way to the dyehouse. On the way, Henry asks Albert a question.

“What is the name of the employer you guys are trying to burn down?”

“Riddrick. Riddrick Mead, President of the Ridrick Mead Company.”

　I didn’t know him, but apparently Mr. Henry did.

“Ah, a man of ill repute. Why didn’t you file a complaint about how you were treated?”

“The seniors protested against him. But it was no use. We went to the authorities. They made us fill out some paperwork, and that was the end of it. Nothing changed. The government officials didn’t help us. Riddick must have paid them off.”

“So you just gave up?”

“No, We didn’t give up!　That’s why we’re trying to get back at him!　You don’t know what we’ve been through, You’re just a civil servant at the castle!”

　It was the same as what happened with Ryo-chan. I still remember the disappointment I felt when I found out that appealing to the principal was useless.

“Yes, you’re right. I don’t understand your struggles. Do you understand the struggles of everyone in the world?”

“That’s …….”

“Then don’t do bad things just because you think no one understands what you’re going through. Then no one will agree with you. It just makes you look like the bad guys. If I were you, I wouldn’t choose to retaliate in a way that would make me look like the bad guy. I would corner the other person through proper procedures.”

　Albert listened with a puzzled look on his face.

“How many of your people are there altogether?”

“Eight, including me. …… All of us have suffered terrible experiences at Ridrick’s place.”

　Suddenly his tone became much calmer. It seemed that Mr. Henry’s words had taken some effect.

　Soon, we came to an area surrounded by high walls. There were no lights from houses around, and it was very dark. This was the first time I had set foot in this area. As he had said, it was a dyeing place, and there were rows of small workshops lined up like a factory plant. I keep my sensing magic active as I walk along, but I can’t see any other colors of light apart from the faint red and orange next to me.

　The cold night wind was blowing, and I couldn’t help but shiver.

“Albert, is Ridrick’s house located somewhere around here?”

“His house is that way.”

　He pointed to a high fence.

“On the other side of that fence, the house closest to the fence is Ridrick’s house. It’s big and spacious.”

“I see. It’s the perfect place to meet before an attack. Your leader is smart. It would be impossible for an ordinary person to get there, but I’m sure a monkey-type beastman could get over that wall.”

“Our leader, Sandor, is very smart.”

　Albert said proudly. Then Victor’s voice came from the pendant.

“Can you hear me? It’s Victor.”

“I can hear you.”

　A low volume voice came from the pendant.

“I’m are coming with my people. We’ll spread out around the area so they don’t notice us and wait for them to arrive. Once they’ve gathered, we’ll surround them all at once.”

“No, please let us talk to them once. I want to hear what they have to say. Can’t you catch them after that?”

“Fine, but if it’s too dangerous, we’ll jump in, okay?”

“Okay. There will be eight young people. Mai and I will go inside the dyehouse and hide and wait. I hope you can hear us from the pendant.”

　

“I can hear even the smallest voice. Don’t worry.”

　Victor-san, you’re so cool. Just as you’d expect from a dog-type beastman. Victor-san and Henry-san are making good use of the pendant I made. The message magic is just like a walkie-talkie. I’m excited that they’re using my magic power instead of batteries. I’ll stick to batteries with a long life span.

　Once inside the building, we found the large workshop deserted. We waited for Albert’s friends to arrive.

“Mai-san, I’ll persuade the young men. It’s not safe for us to stay together, so why don’t you at least take shelter in the back room?”

“I want to be there too. I won’t slow you down. If push comes to shove, I’ll use that thing.”

“I understand. Well, I knew you’d say that.”

　I’m sorry I can’t keep quiet. Henry turns to Albert.

“You have to convince your comrades too. I can’t convince them to do something they don’t want to do just because I tell them to.”

“How do I convince them?”

“If you want to save your grandmother, think for yourself. it’ll  be tough, but find the right words to get through to your friends.”

“Y-Yes.”

　There was an orange glow outside the window, and Henry had already noticed.

“They’re here. I hear multiple footsteps.”

　The door slammed open and seven young men walked in.

“Hey Albert. You’re the first one here. You must be excited, man.”

“Yes, Sandor.”

　But Sandor soon noticed us in the corner of the room.

“The castle officials are here. Albert, what’s going on?”

“Sandor, it’s not a good idea to light a fire after all. Ridrick may be a bad guy, but that doesn’t mean we should kill him.”

“We’re not going to kill him. We will set fire to the back of the house so he can escape. But we will burn his property to the ground. We’re going to burn everything he owns to ashes.”

　Then Henry took a step forward.

“Do you think you can control the fire? There’s a wind tonight. Try spreading it to the surrounding houses. You could be sentenced to death.”

“As long as we don’t get caught, that’s all that matters.”

“Leave it to me. I’ll bring Ridrick to justice. There’s no need for you to get your hands dirty.”

“How can we trust government officials? No matter how many times we ask for help, they just don’t care!”

　Henry takes another step closer to them.

“There are a lot of officials out there. Not all of them are the same. I’d make sure Riddick is brought to justice. Your secrets won’t come out. Stop the arson. And stop vandalizing buildings that belong to Ridrick.”

“Shut the hell up!　Hey, hold these guys down. Tie ‘em up, roll ‘em over, and let’s go.”

“Riddick’s going to make a big fuss about how it was beastmen that did it.”

　Even after hearing what Henry had to say, Sandor apparently didn’t change his mind.

“Quick, tie these two up!”

“Sandor, let’s not do this. This man will help us.”

“It’s our right to get back at him, Albert.”

“It’s not our right. If such private lynchings were allowed to go on, we would become a nation of the weak and the strong. That’s why we have laws, isn’t it!”

　I interjected, but Sandor was not listening. The boys around us looked lost.

“I told you to hurry up and tie these two up!”

　At the same time as he said that, a howl was heard outside. As if in response to the first cry “Wooooooooo,” other howls came from all directions: “Oooooooooh-ohh,” “Wooh-ooh,” “Awoooo.” The youngsters froze.

“Are those dogs?”

“It’s a dog, right?”

　Sandor sharply denied it as the youngsters argued uneasily with each other.

“Footsteps are gathering this way. They’re not dogs, they’re dog-type beastmen!　Let’s get out of here!”

　Just as the young men were about to rush outside, the door was slammed open, bang!　A very big dog came in. All the dogs were very big. The one wearing the copper coin pendant must be Victor.

　The young monkey-type beastmen were so shocked. They all let out collective screams of “Ahhh!” and “Woah!” and tore their clothes off. Buttons went flying everywhere.

　While the super-sized dogs, which looked like they weighed seventy or eighty kilograms, bared their fangs, the youngsters transformed into monkeys in an instant. They look like chimpanzees, but they were really big!　The young men who had transformed into monkeys jumped up on the spot, grabbed onto the ceiling beams, and then, hanging on to the beams, moved with a hoot and a holler, kicked out the window, and jumped  outside.

“After them!”

　The dogs ran away from the house after the group of monkeys, leaving me and Mr. Henry behind.

“I’ll transform too, so please get on my back.”

“You don’t mind if I ride on your back?”

“I can run faster than you can run, Mai.”

　With that, Henry went into the back room and quickly came back as a black cat. I wrapped all of Henry’s clothes and boots in my jacket and got on his back. I slumped down with my clothes under my stomach and clung to his neck. Mr. Henry started to run.

　Soon I heard Mr. Victor’s voice from the pendant.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t wait until the end. I can’t let anyone get hurt. I’ll take them down myself.”

“I’ll leave them to you, Viktor. I’ll do my job and go after Riddick.”

　I saw a lot of orange and blue lights ahead of us.

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